Twitter Must Support Pro-Farmer Accounts in India

Since November, Indians have used Twitter to criticize the government’s recent agricultural farming activities. reforms sparked a nationwide extreme protest ever since 250 million people. On Twitter as of February 10 suspended More than 500 Indian accounts sympathetic to the demonstrators, citing fears of violence. Company only after a big cry Restore several press accounts.

Twitter has some accounts, especially advocated violence against elected officials and Used hashtags as a reference conspiratorial In 1984, he met with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. However, the social media company also suspended Accounts of a large number of journalists and news organizations critical of the Indian government’s reforms. The tech company was erroneous in suspending accounts that should refrain from indiscriminately banning private accounts at the behest of non-violent and undemocratic leaders.

Laws at the center of the protests that swept India to let private buyers buy crops cheaply from small farmers and remove price controls for essential products. We believe These laws allow private companies to reduce their large farmland to almost zero while leaving small farmers without a clear or fair exit strategy. Although the government allegation that the reforms will increase rural income across the country, millions of farmers still frightened losing their land and income. Around 50% 100% of India’s population depends directly or indirectly on small-scale agriculture for their livelihood, and their economic vulnerability is extremely high. Many farmers seriously debtorliving in poor conditions that have been getting worse since the coronavirus epidemic started.

Since the protests began, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, brutal measures to hide public consciousness opposition. For example, the Indian government request Twitter administrators suspended all India accounts advocated Violence against protesters using the #FarmerGenocide hashtag. Twitter’s compliance with banning violent accounts was appropriate; but to the government social media platform, Used a slightly different hashtag – #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide – and confine Indian Twitter workers if the tech giant didn’t fit.

The government blocked internet access in restless parts of the country and prevented online activists from spreading information that would aid their cases. Despite these obstacles, thousands of farmers camped Near New Delhi, they use tractors and farm equipment as temporary residences while pressuring the government to make concessions. Protests on January 25 broke out Police officers used violence while firing tear gas at demonstrators who retaliated using makeshift weapons. Can twitter worsen The bleak future of farmers if the company continues to help the Indian government censor public protests.

Until former President Donald Trump provocation With the riot in the Capitol on January 6, largely through their personal Twitter account, tech companies hesitated to stand against users, especially world leaders who shared politically insensitive or hateful content. In the past, Twitter, Facebook, and Google avoided major ethical dilemmas such as overseeing and tagging misleading content. politically neutral in the eyes of the public. Social media companies have advocated an idealized vision of freedom of expression for a very long time. Allowed bigotry will flourish in plain sight. Due to the nature of technology, it is inevitably political.

According to his credit, Twitter prohibited Trump’s account is within hours after the uprising in the Capitol. But it’s not a single solution that fits everything the company does in the US. Now that Twitter and other social media platforms have made attempts to regulate violent content, these companies have an ethical responsibility to carefully measure the impact of decisions to suspend or ban accounts.

We live in a so-called post-colonial world. However, Twitter, a Western company, has entered the political landscape of an industrializing country. We can’t let Twitter take over Trump, a former US president and a white, privileged American, to dictate how social media platforms deal with freedom of expression and civil disobedience in other countries. Social media platforms must accept the fact that they have become political jugglers. Otherwise, authoritarian figures will continue to manipulate Twitter and other social media outlets to realize their interests at home and abroad.

The above article represents the majority opinion of Wheel’s Editorial Board. Editorial Board; It consists of Sahar Al-Gazzali, Brammhi Balarajan, Viviana Barreto, Rachel Broun, Jake Busch, Sara Khan, Sophia Ling, Martin Shane Li, Demetrios Mammas, Meredith McKelvey, Sara Perez, Ben Thomas, Leah Woldai, Lynnea Zhang. and Yun Zhu.